Foreign Minister Murray McCully travels to Laos this week to attend the ASEAN-NZ Ministerial Meeting, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum.

“New Zealand has long-standing ties with ASEAN and we enjoy close cooperation with member states across a range of regional issues,” Mr McCully says.

“The East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Regional Forum play an important role in addressing the political and security challenges we collectively face, such as maritime security, counter-terrorism, and disaster response and preparedness.”